1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to reproduction of a moving image having a plurality of frame images.
2. Description Related to the Prior Art
A digital camera is well known as a photography device in which a CCD image sensor converts optical subject image into digital still or moving image data. Subject image data is stored in an internal memory or external recording device such as a memory card. Still or moving image taken by the digital camera is reproduced and displayed on a display device such as an LCD.
In order to find a desired scene in the recorded moving image, an ordinary user had to view the moving image from the beginning. Such an operation is troublesome and time consuming, hence the image reproduction device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication (JP-A) No. 08-018923 obtains index images by extracting plural images from a moving image, and displays the index images in a monitor that is divided into nine display frames, for instance. Then, the image reproduction device starts displaying the moving image from the scene corresponding to the selected index image.
The image reproduction device described in the above publication extracts the index images at fixed time intervals. In the event that the number of extracted index images is more than nine, it is not possible to display all of the index images at a same time. Then, the user has to use a scroll operation to display additional index images to recognize the outline of the whole moving image. Such scroll operation is troublesome for the user and causes longer time to find the desired scene to be reproduced.